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Posted By John Young
I have heard on the grape vine that there is a proposal for the HSE to take over the investigation of Road Traffic Accidents, if it is determined that personnel involved are 'at work'.
Would appreciate if anybody could confirm,or reject, this rumour?
Regards - John Young
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Posted By Robert Woods
There was a discussion document on work related road traffic accidents which if my memory serves me correctly had to be in by may 2001.
This was one of the issues raised in the document.
The Hazards movement and the T&GWU have been campaigning on the issue that road deaths when working are not counted in the figures for work related deaths by the HSE. They feel that they should be included. Then the victims/families could claim some form of compensation and employers could be prosecuted under H&S legislation such as PUWER if they are found to be at fault.
The proposal is that if you are killed or serious lnjured in a vehicle used for work purposes then the HSE should be the body to investigate not the police for the reasons mentioned previously.
Robert Woods.
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Posted By Paul Maddock
This subject has been brought to light more recently due to arguments whether you are "at work" when traveling to and from work.
The H&S policy of my company for requires that any employee injured traveling to and from work reports the matter.
How many companies are now taking this seriously in the light of the long working hours that staff now put in I wonder?
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Posted By Robert Woods
Paul,
You are not at work when you are travelling to a place of regular employment [ie not travelling to different sites] if you were you'd get paid for it.
There have been prosecutions of individuals and companies because an individual has worked excessive hours and mowed down a bus cue when he fell asleep driving home. The company being at fault for letting this person work such hours.
Your company is obviously thinking ahead to ask you to report any accidents but you have no legal duty to do so.
What if you went to your girlfriends house on the way home and had an accident on the way, would you be disiplined [By your employer not your wife]for not taking the most direct route home? If your technically still working they could.
Robert Woods
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Posted By Laurie
It is not only people "at work" who are the subject of this discussion. If Transco or BT are parked on the pavement (as they are prone to do!) and I go into the road to get round them and I am hit by a car, that accident is caused by a work activity, and should therefore be investigated by HSE
Laurie
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Posted By Jay Joshi
There is information about the discussion document and a summary of the responses on the HSE website:-
http://www.hse.gov.uk/road/index.htm
The HSC has to decide on the next course of action, but whatever is, there certainly will be a consultative document prior to any implementation of a change in the existing system, especially in terms of reporing arrangements.
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Posted By Mark A. Bush
The question of "who" investigates an at work RTA could fill the discussion pages for the next 12 months.
The CD that came from the task force had a number of suggestions. Our force was one of the respondants to the document.
It will still be a Police duty to investigate the immediate cause (i.e. the 30 seconds before) of the accident and determine the classification. We already record in Home Office data whether those involved were at work or about personal business/pleasure (insurers need to know).
Once it has been determined that the injured/killed were at work, the employer is notified and the police notify the HSE. The proposal then is that the employer investigates the systemic causes of the accident, the police look at the mechanical/behavioural causes and the HSE look at possible enforcement under HASAWA.
If there is a breach of the Road Traffic Act or Construction & Use, the Police would prosecute as normal.
One suggestion we put to the task force was that the employer should not physically investigate the accident. Imagine the disruption of 10 different employers investigating a multiple pile up on the M6 during the rush hour.
One more consideration is who would tell the next of kin about the death of their nearest and dearest. I think this is one aspect that most employers would still leave to the police.
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